Tuesday, 23 July 2019

Character Development in Subnautica


Subnautica is one of the hardest things I've written, for all sorts of wonderful reasons. The world is huge and open, so pacing is out the window. There aren't other people wandering about, but human characters are the most interesting way to tell a story. We have huge creative freedom and independence, and a passionate fan-base with firm ideas about what the game is.

I was asked recently if I could share some of my process on character development for it.

That's a bit like watching a man fall down a hill chasing a rolling cheese, then asking him at the bottom how he did it - it's a lot of pain, hand-waving and muscle memory - but I'll try.

Spoilers for SN1 throughout.

Tuesday, 28 May 2019

Hello, I Love You, Won't You Tell Me Your Name?


OK here's the deal...

...I'm not deleting anything from this blog. I'm not deleting or editing facebook (right now).

This blog and Facebook both reflect my journey, and I love the person that carried me here.

I realise, via this blog and my published stories and games, that I have lived more of my life in public than most people. I have been yelling things that I didn't realise I was even saying, and I've been broadcasting it to the world. Sometimes I feel embarrassed by that.

And at the same time, I've always wanted to share with the world the ideas that made my life more wonderful, in case they can do the same for someone else. The times that I expressed those ideas haphazardly, or through a negative lens, or thought I was being clever when really I was asking for help... they are also part of this story we're telling. They aren't going anywhere. And I'll surely do it again.

Just do me a favour and take it all with a pinch of salt.

I wonder what's next?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJY8jJkDoMY

PS I thought long and hard about changing the name of this blog so that it wasn't using a slur word with particular gender associations. It's my desire to create a positive environment for every person. And at the same time, I like to poke the bear. The name stays. If you have a problem with that I'd love to hear all about it.